Categories: Insights, Case Law


26 May 2016

Court of Cassation: the insults to the boss justify the dismissal without notice

By way of judgment No. 9635 lodged on 11 May 2016, the Court of Cassation has stated that in no way can the concept of insubordination be limited to the refusal to abide by the instructions given by the employer, but it extends to any conduct capable of causing damage to the company’s organisation. Well then, according to the Supreme Court, an insult aimed at one’s boss not only infringes the needs for protection of the individual under article 2 of the Constitution, but may also “be in itself liable to causing damage do the company’s organisation, since the latter’s efficiency lies (…) on the authoritativeness of his/her own executives and senior managers, and such authoritativeness is certainly damaged when the worker, with offensive tones, ascribes clearly dishonourable qualities to them”. The above regardless of the fact that the conduct at issue is typified by the National Collective Bargaining Agreement as a case of just cause or not, since the concept of ‘just cause’ is a legal concept and in no way can the judge deem to be bound by the provisions under the National Collective Bargaining Agreement. Indeed, in the Court’s opinion, the judge may recognise the existence of just cause in a serious breach or conduct of the worker against the ethical rules and against the rules of common civilised living, should it be detrimental to the relationship of trust between the parties.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Contact

Need information? Write to us and our team of experts will respond as soon as possible.

Fill in the form

More news and insights

17 Mar 2026

Equal pay: green light for the decree on pay equality and wage transparency (People are People, 16 marzo 2026 – Claudia Cerbone, Martina De Angeli)

Claudia Cerbone and Martina De Angeli, professionals at the De Luca & Partners firm, author this article dedicated to the draft legislative decree approved last February 5 by…

16 Mar 2026

Illegitimacy of staff leasing due to violation of the principle of temporariness (Top 24 Lavoro, 27 febbraio 2026 – Vittorio De Luca, Alessandra Zilla)

With judgment no. 4493 of December 19, 2025, the Court of Milan addressed the issue of indefinite-term labor supply (so-called staff leasing). In particular, the Court clarified that,…

10 Mar 2026

The transfer of the employee is lawful when there is incompatibility with the company environment (Camera di Commercio Italo-Francese, 10 marzo 2026 – Vittorio De Luca, Silvia Zulato)

With Order No. 4198 of 25 February 2026, the Italian Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) – Labour Section – reaffirmed that a situation of environmental incompatibility may justify…

3 Mar 2026

Employee monitoring: when “bossware” becomes a legal risk (Agenda Digitale, 2 marzo 2026 – Martina De Angeli)

Monitoring workers through digital tools is a rapidly expanding practice, accelerated by the spread of remote work and the digital transformation of companies. Before adopting these systems, however,…

3 Mar 2026

Melismelis signs the campaign for the 50th anniversary of De Luca & Partners

For the historic labor law firm, the agency developed the 50th-anniversary logo and advertising campaign, managed online and offline media planning, and renewed the website’s visual identity. Milan,…

27 Feb 2026

Dismissals: the Corte costituzionale grants broader discretion to judges and greater scope for reinstatement (I Focus del Sole 24 Ore, 26 febbraio 2026 – Vittorio De Luca e Alessandra Zilla)

The regulation of dismissals continues to represent one of the central pillars of Italian labour law, an area of constant tension between freedom of economic initiative and the…